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An approach to looking at a problem is not normally considered a belief system, despite the fact that some here try to declare it as such.

Taking this a bit further:Most of the symbols we (our culture/society) use tend to be static representations of something at a particular point in time (a snapshot of sorts). It is easier to manipulate these sorts of ideas than it is to actually entrench yourself in a different thought process. Consequently, those that choose the easy route have this tendency to miscategorize all sorts of things. If someone "?"(or thing) has properties that are similar to "S", then the categorizer (in most cases) won't bother looking at the rest of the properties (hell, they won't even think about it) of person "?" (or thing). So "?" is improperly branded an "S". See how that works?If one didn't use this static symbol mechanism and tried to actually understand the thought process instead of just finding the best fit symbol, then there would be much less misunderstanding.

Now, what would happen if there simply is no easy, shortcut symbol to apply to a person? In other words, the person is unable to find a particular belief system that closely matches their perspective of the world. Would you just categorize them and then re-categorize them as they "changed" (in your eyes)?

It is unfortunate the people think that way, but its basic human nature to categorize things. Categorizing things you encounter (even if the categories aren't perfect) enables you to make predictions about it that you wouldn't be able to make if you treated it as a completely new concept. As a dumbed down example, if someone tells you they have a dog, you automatically assign to that dog properties that you know other dogs possess, such as fetching sticks, slobbering, etc. It would be too much mental work to reevaluate each case from scratch. So although we should try to avoid this type of reasoning most of the time, its easy to slip back into categorizing because doing so is a fundamental part of our cognitize process.

That is the limiting factor of communication. Every word that you just typed is a symbol and there is no way around it. Higher understanding is always based on associations with things already known. Forgive me if i misinterpereted your symbolism.